Both Jaison and Mish talk about keeping your computer clean in today’s episode of the Geek Leak (September 9th, 2016).

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8:45 min

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10:00 min

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10:00 min

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9:34 min

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10:15 min

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11:02 min

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10:40 min

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8.6 MB

12:34 min

Most computer owners don’t realize that their computers need to be kept tuned up and clean up, just like their vehicles. And just as your vehicle has a better chance of breaking down and/or shortening its lifespan, if you don’t keep your computer cleaned out, the same thing will happen to it.

And this isn’t hard to do. In fact, it’s easier than maintaining your car!

First thing you want to do is literally clean out the insides. Here’s why: especially with desktop computers, they contain at least one fan (most have two or even three). The reason for the fans are that they suck in the outside air, pull it across the heated components and then pull the heated air out the back. This is what we want to happen. However, in addition to the air being pulled in, the fans are also pulling in dust, dirt, cigarette smoke and pet air (pretty much anything in the outside environment). Since the internal components are electrically charged, the dust and dirt, including the pet air clings to the devices and eventually this builds up. As this “junk” builds up, air flow is restricted and the heat builds up inside. As we all know, heat is the enemy to all mechanical devices. This will wear down the components faster and they will eventually seize up and quit. And then you could have a dead motherboard or processor and more (including failed hard drive and lost data!).

A couple indications that your computer is overheating is that it is running slower and/or you hear the fan running at a faster rate (to compensate for the higher temps).

To clean out:

1) you will want to shut down the computer, unplug everything (you can even take a picture of all the plugs so you know where they plug back in afterwards)

2) take the computer outside and unscrew the side panel

3) take a can of compressed air and blow out the fans

4) Once cleaned out, button up the side, and plug everything back in and you should be back in business.

Depending on how dirty your unit is, you may need shampoo, rinse and repeat every couple of months.

With a laptop, you do NOT take apart the computer; this is only for trained technicians. What you can do, is take the laptop outside and flip over the computer (obviously turn it off first) and blow a little compressed air into the fan vents.

The newer laptops may not have a fan due to the fact that they run cooler automatically and have no need for air circulation (like your smart phone and tablet).

If you prefer not dealing with cleaning out your computer yourself, or are hesitant to do so, feel free to give one of the technicians a call and we can either come out to your place of business or home and do it for you. Or simply bring the computer into our shop and we can do for it.

Question of the Week

Mish and Jaison also took a question from Josh in Boone about his laptop battery. Josh was told that he needs to “condition” his laptop battery.

New laptops have what we call a Lithium Battery. With Lithium technology, you do NOT need to condition the battery, nor do you need to worry about a “memory” to them. Lithium batteries charge extremely quicker (sometimes charging from a dead state to full in about an hour) and hold a rather long charge. The only real major drawback to them is that they can only handle about 1000-1500 “charges”. After this many charges, they will not hold a charge and you’ll only get, maybe, 15 minutes out of it. Time for a new battery! Replacement batteries are not expensive and can range anywhere from $30 to $150 depending on the laptop.

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